The Door to the Dragon's Soul
by Starlight Kittycat
Summary: She located Draco Malfoy sitting elegantly inside the compartment.   Correction, she saw an egotistical pure-blooded ferret son-of-a-deatheater prat sitting inside the compartment.   Ew.   HB/HG story HGxDM 6th Year.


_**Read and review? Pretty please?(:**_

_**[General plot Information. Read, or you will be confused!]**_

**-This story follows the plotline of the HP books until the order of the phoenix. So this story takes place from the beginning of Draco & hermione's 6****th**** year. **

**-As you all know, some of the 5****th**** years and 6****th**** years at Hogwarts are prefects, and two students in 7****th**** year are Head boy and girl. However for the sake of this fic, lets say that Dumbledore appointed 2 more students in 6****th**** year as Alternate head boy and girl due to the increased danger prior to the second wizarding war. **

**-Draco is for now evil, and has taken the dark mark. He is, as in the book, ordered to kill Dumbledore. **

**-This will matter in the later chapters only, but Dumbledore never touches the cursed ring.**

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><p>Exactly a week had passed since Hermione Granger had returned to Hogwarts.<p>

Although it had been an immense relief to set foot in the place she called a second home once again, the increased strain within the wizarding world due to the official rise of Voldemort made her tense and paranoid. She couldn't help but feel the empty spaces of her classmates who hadn't returned. She inwardly shivered as she wondered how many more would be gone by the end of the year.

As uneasy as she was, Hermione knew that she couldn't just blend in with the background and pretend that all was fine. Not that her Gryffindor pride would ever permit such, but she had a role to fulfill. Dumbledore had specifically assigned her as the Alternate Head Girl- supposedly, well, the _alternate _of the Head Girl.

It seemed that due to the increased danger thanks to the bastard Lord Prejudice, Hogwarts needed more protection and coordination. Clearly, as Alternate Head Girl, she needed to take action.

However, she still couldn't forget the moment she had marched inside the Heads' compartment on the Hogwarts Express, her new badge polished as spotlessly as Percy Weasley's had been. Within seconds, she felt her pride deflate as she located Draco Malfoy sitting elegantly inside the compartment.

_Correction, _she saw an egotistical pure-blooded ferret son-of-a-deatheater prat sitting inside the compartment.

_Ew__._

His face was as pale as usual, hair as blonde as usual, and ego as big as usual. He seemed to have undergone a bit of growing up over summer- his facial features had been sharpened out giving him a sharper aristocratic look, he had lengthened a few more inches and seemingly gained a bit more muscle.

"Granger, it would be quite pleasing if you could stop staring at me as if I were a pile of chocolate frogs and either get lost or come in." Malfoy drawled with a bored expression. "Not that your filthy mudblood presence could ever be pleasing." He added while wrinkling his nose.

Why that _despicable _egotistical pure-blooded ferret son-of-a-deatheater prat.

Physical growth clearly had no correlation with mental growth.

"Why hello, _Draco, _I don't know what Professor Dumbledore was thinking by putting you in this very room with a _filthy mudblood _like myself. I mean, I thought that you would be busy having little tea parties with your father and his death eater friends at dear Voldemort's residence." She spat back.

Malfoy visibly stiffened at the mention of Voldemort's name and his look of superiority was replaced with a foul sneer.

_Ah, _she had struck a nerve. Lovely.

"Mudblood, do not speak of my father or voice the Dark Lord's name with your inferior mouth!" He stood up and shouted, his tall, lean figure making a formidable stance.

She couldn't deny that she wasn't surprised at his sudden outburst. After all, they had been bickering this way for as long as she could remember. It was rather like their personal way of saying hello after the long summer. Instead of the _normal _'how are yous' and 'I missed yous', they usually settled with 'shut up mudblood' and 'sod off ferret'. It was strange that she was able to rile him up so easily.

"Oh, the _Dark Lord_ now is it? I see you've decided to follow in your dear father's footsteps, although I didn't expect even _you _to stoop down to such a level." She inwardly smirked as she saw Malfoy's fist clench in a way that gave her pleasure.

"Enough you two. Don't make me take points off of Gryffindor and Slytherin even before school starts because of their two new immature head students." A calm, baritone voice sounded from the opposite side of Malfoy.

Both Hermione and Malfoy turned their attention to this new character, who was sitting straight-backed with a slightly amused looking girl next to him. He was wearing Hufflepuff robes and a badge- to her annoyance- that did not have the bothersome "_alternative" _preceding the "Head Boy". To her greater annoyance, his badge was even shinier than hers. In fact, the state of his badge would have made Percy Weasley's eyes burn with competitiveness. Malfoy's eyes glanced at the boy's badge and then back to his face.

"Dear Merlin. When I thought that sharing a common room with a mudblood Gryffindor bitch was as worse as things could get, I have to take orders from a _Hufflepuff." _ He rolled his eyes with such disgust that made Hermione's fist tighten around her wand.

"Watch it, Malfoy." The Girl wearing Ravenclaw retorted with a firm yet stern voice. Her demeanor so closely resembled the one of Minerva Mcgonagall.

It was quite alarming to say the least.

Before anyone could say anything else, a warm hand pressed against her shoulder that caused her to stiffen at the surprise. However, she relaxed as soon as she the ancient voice of the intruder filled up the compartment.

"Yes, I quite agree with miss Edgecombe, that is enough, Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore calmly said as he urged Hermione to sit down next to the foul git. They both bared their teeth at each other before Hermione reluctantly took a seat.

"As I see that you have already introduced yourselves to each other," Dumbledore flashed a humorous smile that no one returned. "I shall proceed to explain the vast responsibility that you chosen four have in your hands this year." Hermione straightened her back with importance as Dumbledore paused. She saw Draco roll his eyes. "Due to the increased danger in the current wizarding world, we are trying to double our security and the level of organization. Thus here is Mr. Zacharias Smith and Miss Marietta Edgecombe as head boy and girl, and Mr. Draco Malfoy and Miss Hermione Granger as alternatives to assist the head boy and girl."

Marietta Edgecombe? She recognized her for the first time that day as the traitor girl of Dumbledore's Army last year. To her well-concealed glee, she noticed the very faint, yet visible, trace of 'SNEAK' imprinted across her face. Living proof, of why nobody should mess with Hermione Granger.

"One more important thing is that each of you are responsible for monitoring your respectable houses. That is, precisely the reason why I assigned four different heads from four different houses." Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled. "Now, go ahead and monitor the prefects and patrol the corridors as you all are probably used to doing!" He chuckled once more and headed out of the compartment.

Awkward silence.

Smith was the first one to speak up as he cleared his throat and puffed his chest importantly.

"All right, well Marietta and I will go to the prefect's compound to assign them their patrol areas, you two go and patrol compartments one to six." He sounded professional, but unnatural. It was so obvious that he was _trying _to sound professional. Hermione snorted inwardly. Harry and Ron had been right about Smith being an annoying git.

"I wonder if I will ever be able to spend time _away _from you Granger. I don't appreciate the company of know-it-all mudbloods." Malfoy started as he got up.

"Sod off Malfoy, your insults are getting old and _extremely _repetitive." She replied without much care.

"Like pure blood and ferret isn't old. Stop acting like you're better than everyone else, you little bitch. The irony of a mudblood having such principles amuses me to no end." He said with venom and hatred.

Oh, how she _loathed _him.

Hermione tried to restrain herself from hexing him into oblivion. She wondered how long she could contain herself if they were to share a common room for the _entire _year. She could just picture herself practicing her new masochistic hobby, don't-harm-the-little-ferret-even-if-it-kills-you! She gave herself a mental slap as she realized that Malfoy was already down the corridors of the train.

She sighed as she stood up and reluctantly began to trace his footsteps.

It was going to be a long year.

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><p>Draco continued pacing his personal room as he had been doing so for the past hour. Upon his return to Hogwarts, his worries and thoughts had increased a tenfold, immediately affecting his appearance. Fortunately, these blemishes on his exterior could be easily blamed on sleep deprivation- the condition that half the school suffered.<p>

Although he had acted all high and mighty in front of his friends, he was lost and unsure of how to proceed. The Dark Lord had given him a mission, and it was definitely not an easy one. He had to kill the old bat Dumbledore by the end of the year, and his whole family's life was on the line.

In other words, Draco Malfoy was royally fucked.

He rubbed his eye with frustration. Draco Malfoy was not used to these kinds of sufferings. He had been spoiled filthy for 16 years of his life, until his father had been arrested after failing the Dark Lord, that is. While his inheritance and trust fund was still safely tucked away and secure, it was considerably harder to boast about his name, as the Malfoy's association with the Dark Arts was more than public knowledge.

No matter. Once The Dark Lord would take control of the Wizarding World, his family name would glow and flourish with the loyalty and superiority. Purebloods would return to the top of the hierarchy while mudbloods, squibs and blood traitors would return to their rightful places.

_Mudbloods. _Granger.

It was absolutely disgusting and sickening that he had to share a common room with the filthy girl. It was bad enough that she was a mudblood, but she just had to be a girl with _the_ worst personality he had ever encountered. She was bossy, an ultimate know-it-all, prudish, bitchy, extremely Gryffindor-like and just plain annoying. Also, the stupid bush she called hair was very unpleasing to the eye.

He fisted his desk as he let out a disgruntled sound. _She _was definitely going to get in the way of things, wasn't she? The only reason he had accepted such a position as Head Boy or whatever, was because it would allow him more connection with Dumbledore, yet draw suspecting eyes away from him. As long as he acted the loyal puppy of Dumbledore, nobody would suspect that he was behind the old bat's future death.

Cunning and clever was the way he rolled.

He had been trying his best to progress his task even before school had started. A trip to Borgin and Burkes with the threat of his newly dark mark-brandished arm had been enough. Although the man claimed it impossible at first, he hurriedly assured Draco that the Vanishing Cabinet may be fixed with his best efforts.

He groaned again as he recalled a memory.

_Potter._

While he had been socializing with his Slytherin housemates in a compartment on the Hogwarts express, Potter had sneaked in with his stupid invisibility cloak. Though he had experienced the pleasure of breaking the Boy-who-just-won't-die's nose, Potter had likely overheard all of his boastings to his friends about the task.

He was sure to be on his tail the whole year. He would probably warn Granger as well.

Bloody Gryffindors.

* * *

><p>Hermione awoke to her magically charmed alarm clock.<p>

It was Monday.

Even the studious Hermione Granger had a personal dislike for Mondays. The weather was dull as the clouds covered the otherwise clear September sky. She slowly uncovered herself from her thick, golden and red blankets and the warmth was immediately gone. She shivered but got out of bed.

She opened the room of her door and proceeded to the spacious common room she shared, or rather was forced to share, with the sodding blonde git. As usual, he was not present, and she wasn't complaining. She had learned from experience that Malfoy and she should avoid each other as much as humanly possible. In fact, the less air they shared, the better.

Though she had despised Draco Malfoy for as long as she could remember, his actions this year had startled her thoroughly. The venom, disgust and superiority were definitely still there, but there was another edge to his dislike that was a complete different degree from his childish insulting. It was almost as if he actually hated her with all his guts… it was a cold feeling, very cold indeed.

She unintentionally shivered.

She strolled over to the bathroom to take a nice, warm shower to refresh herself before the day started. However, as she turned the doorknob of the wooden door, she found it locked. Sure enough, she could hear one Draco Malfoy scrubbing himself in inappropriate places over the thin door.

Right, it was _their shared _bathroom.

As a highly routinely person, she was annoyed to no end.

She could just tell that today was going to be a pain in the arse.

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><p><strong>AN: Yup.**

**That was the first chapter of this story ladies and gentlemen. **

**Please R&R? it would make me very happy:D **

**On a side note, as you can see, Draco and Hermione get along VERY well, huh?**

**This story isn't going to be a 3 chaptered "they hate each other but fall in love because this is fanfiction and lived happily ever after" story.**

**I don't know how long it's going to be, but it's going to be a SLOW progress.**

**Draco needs to develop A LOT more feelings. **

**Also, as you all probably know, Zacharias Smith and Marietta Edgecombe are the properties of JKR. But I'm probably going to develop my own personalities with these characters because I don't think they had very big impacts in the books.**

**Anyhowww Adios :D**


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